IEHA - Uniting Facility Managers Worldwide – announced that four members have earned their Master Registered Executive Housekeeper (Master REH) designations since IEHA first introduced the prestigious credential in 2011. The Master REH and Master Certified Executive Housekeeper (Master CEH) credentials are designed to raise awareness of the knowledge, professionalism and skill levels achieved by designation holders, and to highlight their premier role as leaders and educators within IEHA and the cleaning industry. Due to the following four registered IEHA members' educational backgrounds and extensive amount of experience in the cleaning industry, as well as providing a well-written essay and letters of recommendations from colleagues, they have been granted Master REH status with IEHA:

• John M. Poole, Jr., Master REH, graduated from Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA, with a Bachelor's Degree Business in 1974. He entered the cleaning industry in 1974 as a part-time route supervisor. In 1982, he worked for International Service Systems as a Project Manager at Georgia Pacific Center and in 1984, was promoted to Operations Manager for the Atlanta Branch. In 1990, he became Senior Cleaning Superintendent for the Georgia Building Authority. In 1996, he re-entered the contract cleaning industry with Allied International Cleaning Services in Atlanta as Senior Project Manager at Wildwood Office Park – a Class A office park in North Atlanta. In 2007, he went to work with American Building Maintenance in Atlanta as Senior Project Manager. In 2011, he retired and developed a training and consulting business in the cleaning industry. Besides being a Master REH with IEHA, he is also a Registered Building Services Manager with the BSCAI, an ISSA Certification Expert (I.C.E.) and CIMS Assessor, a LEED Associate, an Authorized OSHA Outreach Trainer and a member of IICRC.

• Leslye Kornegay, Master REH, is currently the Director of the Custodial Services Department at the University of Vermont (UVM). She brings 30 years of leadership and executive leadership experience in the areas of housekeeping, facilities management, hospitality and conference services. Prior to escaping to the Green Mountains, Kornegay served in the role of Associate Director of Housing Facilities Operations & Services at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMASSD) and as the Deputy Assistant Director for Facilities Operations at North Carolina State University (NCSU). She is a member of the adjunct faculty at a local institution of higher education and has presented numerous presentations and workshops in her area of expertise. Kornegay is a doctoral candidate in the Leadership and Policy studies program in the Department of Education at the University of Vermont and is in the process of writing her dissertation at this time. Kornegay has been a member of IEHA since 1995 and has served in numerous leadership roles at the chapter and district levels.

• Frank Pessolano, Master REH, has 35 years of progressive managerial experience, encompassing leadership roles ranging from frontline housekeeping supervision to Assistant Vice President for Support Services in a community medical center. As a cleaning professional, Pessolano has worked for several prominent New Jersey hospitals in a variety of capacities all the while keeping his focus and his hands in the housekeeping profession. Pessolano is currently the Director of Environmental Services at Mountainside Hospital in Montclair, New Jersey. In this role, he has oversight for the laundry, telecommunications, patient transport, housekeeping and call center departments. His education includes an Associate's Degree in Hotel Management from Middlesex County College and a Bachelor's Degree in Management from the University of Phoenix. He has also been involved in teaching “Leadership Development” at several New Jersey hospitals.

• Michael A. Catanzaro, Master REH, began his career in environmental services in 1982 as a location manager for Professional Services at Flatbush General Hospital in Brooklyn, NY. During the early years of his career, he worked as Area Manger for See Clear Maintenance in Long Island, Branch Manager for American Building Maintenance and again with Professional Services as location manager at Kings Highway Hospital in Brooklyn, NY. Through the 90s, Catanzaro worked as Assistant Director at Beth Israel Hospital in NYC, and Director of EVS and Laundry at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, NY. Catanzaro spent 13 years at Long Beach Medical Center as Director of Environmental Services and Laundry before relocating in 2007 to Dover, NH, where he currently holds the position of Director of Environmental Services. He earned his CEH designation with IEHA in 1985, and his REH in 1990. In 1991, he graduated Nassau Community College in Garden City, NY, with an Associate's Degree in Business, August 1991, and continued his studies in Business Administration at the State University New York at Westbury, NY.

For more information about the Master REH and Master CEH programs, and to download an application for consideration by IEHA's Education Committee, click here.